From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Skepticism \Skep"ti*cism\, noun [Cf. F. scepticisme.] [Written also {scepticism}.]
1. An undecided, inquiring state of mind; doubt; uncertainty.
That momentary amazement, and irresolution, and confusion, which is the result of skepticism. --Hune.
2. (Metaph.) The doctrine that no fact or principle can be certainly known; the tenet that all knowledge is uncertain; Pyrrohonism; universal doubt; the position that no fact or truth, however worthy of confidence, can be established on philosophical grounds; critical investigation or inquiry, as opposed to the positive assumption or assertion of certain principles.
3. (Theol.) A doubting of the truth of revelation, or a denial of the divine origin of the Christian religion, or of the being, perfections, or truth of God.
Let no . . . secret skepticism lead any one to doubt whether this blessed prospect will be realized. --S. Miller.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: doubt about the truth of something [syn: {incredulity}, {disbelief}, {mental rejection}]
2: the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge [syn: {agnosticism}, {scepticism}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
46 Moby Thesaurus words for "skepticism": Humism, Pyrrhonism, agnosticism, apprehension, caution, cautiousness, concern, diffidence, disinclination to believe, distrust, distrustfulness, doubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubiousness, guardedness, half-belief, incertitude, inconvincibility, incredulity, leeriness, misdoubt, misgiving, mistrust, mistrustfulness, qualm, qualmishness, question, resistiveness to belief, scoffing, scruple, scrupulousness, self-doubt, shadow of doubt, skepticalness, suspicion, suspiciousness, total skepticism, tough-mindedness, uncertainty, unconvincibility, uncredulousness, unpersuadability, unpersuasibility, wariness, wonder
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